Bulls CFO now AD at Delaware State

Rick Costello, USF's associate athletic director and chief financial officer for the past four years, has left to become athletic director at Delaware State.

Costello, 40, chaired the Bulls' bowl committee in their first two bowl trips and most recently helped work out a $22-million, 10-year sports marketing agreement with ISP Sports. He and I shared two small coincidences, in that both of us had our 4-year-old sons in preschool at St. James Methodist in Tampa, and like my father, he has a degree from Lehigh University in eastern Pennsylvania.

Forty's an impressive age to have an athletic department of your own, and Costello should do well in helping the Division I-AA football school develop into a power in the MEAC -- the Hornets went 8-3 last year, with a 6-2 record in conference play. He had worked under the outgoing AD, Chuck Bell, when both were at San Jose State before he came to USF.

And I totally see Delaware State becoming an opening-week sacrificial lamb on a future USF football schedule, say, 2011 or so. It's nearly happened before, and Costello being there just makes it easier to work out. (Photo courtesy of dsuhornets.com)

In other news, USF's basketball office made official the hiring of former Kentucky assistant Reggie Hanson, who'd publicly accepted the job five weeks ago but had been under contract in Lexington. The release has coach Stan Heath touting Hanson's background as a top recruiter: "Reggie has already built a reputation as a very strong recruiter. He has worked for and played under some of the top coaches in the business and brings a wealth of experience as both a player and a coach to the program.”

USF also formally announced the hiring of Darren Sorenson, who's been working with Heath since April. The only curiosity was whether he'd be a full-time assistant or the director of basketball operations, which he was during Heath's five years at Arkansas. Sorenson will stay in the operations position, meaning Heath still has a full-time opening on his staff. When I'd talked to Heath last week, he'd indicated that he was down to one or two candidates and would have someone in place in the immediate future.

My favorite two tidbits from Sorenson's resume: first, that he graduated from now-defunct Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wisc., and second, that he once coached the junior national team for the small Middle East emirate of Qatar.

-- A rare soccer note! Former USF player Anthony Wallace has been named to the national Under-20 team for the Under-20 World Cup, which starts June 30 in Canada. The St. Petersburg native, who played only one season at USF and is now with MLS's FC Dallas, is among the youngest on the 21-player roster and starts training with the team this weekend in New Jersey. The U.S. opens play in the Cup against South Korea in Montreal.